Sustainability for kids

Recent discussion on gather included discussion between Sam C. and me about teaching children the ideas and practice of sustainability. Going through some of my bookmarks, I finally came across a relevant article (via my own blog roll and StumbleUpon favorites- I knew I had seen it!) from Green Talk and decided to note it here:

Make Sustainability Part of Our Kids' ABCs

(In) October, 2007, Edutopia launched its Go Green Database as a centerpiece of its ambitious plan to assist schools in teaching about environmental awareness. This resource includes an online user-driven database, short video documentations, and the entire October 2007 issue of Edutopia magazine. It also contained additional information to spur the teaching of our youth of the importance of sustainability and our impact on our environment.

Comments: 11

Alta B. Jan 12, 2008, 11:10pm EST

We teach our kids every day about the environment and mother nature. We think of ways that our family can help with the environment and mother nature and we practice those things. We also share with others what we know or learn.

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James B. Jan 12, 2008, 11:59pm EST

Alta, That's great to hear. It is by no means common. I'm also glad that materials are starting to appear for people to use as teaching aids. There are resources, for example at the University of Oregon, for older kids (High School and College level). I have an article about resources early on in my blog, though it is somewhat specific to green chemistry:
http://greenchemistry.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/beginning-concepts-and-helpful-resources-for-green-chemistry/
Best wishes, Jim

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Sam Carana Jan 13, 2008, 7:29am EST

There are many issues here, such as whether homeschooling is better.
Cheers! Sam Carana

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Charli Mills Jan 13, 2008, 11:21am EST

Thanks for the information and link. I like the Aldo Leopold approach to teaching kids through discovery of nature. I am going to go check out your blogs, now.

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Charli Mills Jan 13, 2008, 11:27am EST

Great blog! All of you interested in education should check out the Will Steger Foundation site for resources and educational materials at: http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/. Will is one of my few heroes in life.

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James B. Jan 13, 2008, 2:57pm EST

Thanks, Charli! I'll go to the Will Steger link.

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James B. Jan 13, 2008, 3:46pm EST

Sam: With luck, resources developed for any educational setting can often be adapted to other environments.

I don't like to comment on other people's choices for educating their kids. I don't claim that my beliefs are relevant to anyone else. I wrote a long answer, but deleted it all. Let's just say I believe in public schools for K-12.

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Patrick C. Jan 13, 2008, 4:35pm EST

It's a good start and that should be part of any kids curriculum at home and/or school.

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James B. Jan 13, 2008, 7:31pm EST

Well said!

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James B. Jan 13, 2008, 7:37pm EST

Charli: Unfortunately, http://www.globalwarming101.com/ at Will Steger's site is under reconstruction, but I'll check back later on. Jim

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Anna H. Feb 11, 2008, 3:51pm EST

James, thanks so much for posting my article from Green Talk. Unfortunately, I could not embed any of their videos on my website but they are amazing. Many of their field trips were nature based. I truly believe in experiential learning in any schooling environment.

Everyone who is interested in sustainability and teaching our children should take a few minutes and look at the database as well all the other education information on the main Edutopia website. Thanks again for the support. It is truly appreciated.

Anna www.green-talk.com

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Sustainability for kids

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